Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
If you listen carefully to our credits, you might know that our show is connected to Brown University.
But, you might not know that all of our reporters are Brown University students.
I went to Brown– twice! And I teach a class here. Our managing producer just graduated from Brown a few years ago, and our founder is a Brown professor.
So we were all shattered by the mass shooting that happened on our campus. All of us are physically ok, but we are sad. We are shocked. We are still figuring out how to cope.
Every year at this time, we create an episode with our resolutions for 2026. We recorded the messages for this show just two days before the shootings.
Now that everything has changed, we weren’t sure if we should air this episode. But then we thought, maybe it would be nice to hear how we sounded before all of this happened– hopeful, optimistic, and excited to go home for winter break.
So, here they are- some of our resolutions for 2026.
Hamid Torabzadeh: Hi, my name is Hamid Torabzadeh. I am a reporter for Possibly, and my New Year’s resolution for 2026 is to wash all my clothes using cold water. My dorm at Brown has already instituted a mandatory cold water policy on the washing machines because there’s no other free setting, but cold water. And so I want to continue to do that when I’m off Brown’s campus.
Emma Mejia: Hi, my name is Emma Mejia and I’m a reporter for Possibly. This year my New Year’s resolution is to think twice before I buy a new article of clothing because I feel like I just have so much clothing that doesn’t get worn, that I didn’t have to buy in the first place. So now I am going to kind of try to buy my clothing more intentionally, for quality so that I can keep wearing it for longer and more sustainability.
Andrea Li: Hi, my name is Andrea Li. I’m a reporter for Possibly. My New Year’s resolution this year is to either take public transit more or walk around everywhere. At Brown, it’s a lot easier to do that ’cause we have public buses like RIPTA. But back home where I’m from, the suburbs are very car reliant, so my resolution is just to tough it up and walk wherever I can. Over the summer I walked two miles to the library in the scorching heat, and if I can do it then I can do it in December. So that’s what I hope to do.
Nat Hardy: Hi, my name’s Nat Hardy. I’m the managing producer for Possibly. Last year my resolution was to convince my roommates to start composting and I failed. It did not work. This year I have some new roommates and I’m re-upping the goal, and I’m gonna try to get us composting this year.
Christine Peng: Hi, my name’s Christine Peng. I’m a reporter for possibly, and for 2026, I am going to remember to bring my reusable grocery bags to the store. And so I won’t keep buying new ones because our family has a bad habit of doing that and it would be better just to use the ones we already have.
Megan Hall: Hello, my name is Megan Hall. I’m the host of Possibly, and last year I said I would get heat pumps and the year before that I said I would get heat pumps and I still do not have heat pumps in my house. I did get an estimate this year, so I think that’s progress. Next year’s gonna be the year, I promise, So wish me luck in 2026.
Megan Hall: And may I add one more resolution— for a safer 2026 for everyone.
Megan Hall: That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at ask possibly dot org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on social media at “ask possibly”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and Ocean State Media.
Megan Hall: All done. Awesome. All right. Thanks everybody. Wonderful. Yay.
